Women to Watch: 10 years of honoring female business leaders

This year Mainebiz takes note of 10 years of honoring the Women to Watch.

In addition to writing about this year's honorees, we have a commemorative issue with updates on 44 honorees from the past decade.

We hear from time to time that the notion of singling out women executives is antiquated. But as the national #metoo discussion of the past year has shown, issues in the workplace persist. Differences in pay still exist. Representation in corner offices and board rooms is still a challenge.

As Publisher Donna Brassard notes, when the idea for Women to Watch was developed, she and then-Editor Carol Coultas were looking through issues of Mainebiz and saying, "Where are the women?"

Even though women have made great strides in business in the past decade, we remain committed to the idea of honoring the women who are doing great things.

This year's honorees have distinguished themselves in different fields. We have a business owner, a college president, an HR lawyer and a nonprofit leader. Coverage starts on Page 16.